JNU Protest Updates: No question of withdrawing protest unless fees rolled back, says JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh

Delhi Police evict JNU students from Safdarjung Tomb

Delhi: Police remove Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students who are protesting near Safdarjung Tomb, demanding complete fee roll back along with other demands. pic.twitter.com/NOxxlVoZg4

— ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2019

‘We are all fighting together’: JNUSU president

Aishe Gosh said they took out a peaceful march from JNU. “The police thought they would detain two office bearers and the movement would end, but every student is a leader. We are all fighting together…Till the time there is not a complete rollback of the hike and of the IHA manual, we will continue our agitation.”

She also asked why male police personnel were detaining women students.

PTI

Fee hike unaffordable for a large number of students, says student leader

CNN-News18 quoted Akshat Seth, Unit Secretary of the SFI in JNU as saying, “In recent years, there has been a trend of exclusion of students and teachers who have a different opinion from the administration…The fee hike is unaffordable for a large number of students.”

No question of withdrawing protest unless fees rolled back, says JNUSU president

Times Now reported that Aishe Ghosh, the JNUSU president addressed the gathering a short while ago, and said that there was no question of withdrawing the protest until there is a complete rollback in fees.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav condemns police action against protesting students

Expressing solidarity with protesting JNU students, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said that they were exercising their democratic right to protest against and the fee hike. He also condemned the action taken against the students by the Delhi Police. 

अपने लोकतांत्रिक अधिकारों के तहत फ़ीस बढ़ोतरी का विरोध कर रहे JNU छात्रों पर दिल्ली पुलिस द्वारा किए गए बर्बर व्यवहार व प्रताड़ना का हम विरोध करते है।हम इस लड़ाई में सभी छात्र संगठनों के साथ खड़े है।विडीओ में छात्र राजद नेत्री प्रियंका भारती के साथ कैसे दुर्व्यवहार किया जा रहा है https://t.co/pwAJtYpuB4

— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) November 18, 2019

Metro services at Jor Bagh station halted

Trains will not be halting at Jorbagh and entry/exit gates of the station have also been closed temporarily.

— Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (@OfficialDMRC) November 18, 2019

NSUI expresses solidarity with JNU students

“Police brutality on activists and JNU students during a peaceful protest march against hostel fee hike today. Students were badly beaten up and arrested by Delhi Police. NSUI stands firmly with JNU students on their demand for complete rollback of fee hikes,” Neeraj Kundan, national president of the NSUI (Student wing of the Congress) said on Twitter.

Protest will not be withdrawn till demands fulfilled, say students

JNU students protesting in the Jor Bagh area of Delhi have said that they will not stop protesting till their demands, including the roll back of hostel fee hike, are met. Protesters said that assurances are not enough, News18 reported.

Police crackdown shows govt afraid of youth, says Congress

Pawan Khera, spokesperson for the Congress, told News18 the crackdown by police shows that the government is afraid of the youth.

“It clearly shows that this government is afraid of the youth of India. It is afraid of any university which encourages free school of thought. The proposed fee hike would make JNU one of the most expensive universities, students are right in demanding a roll back,” he said.

Minister of state for HRD speaks about JNU protests

Sanjay Dhotre, Minister of State,HRD: Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has produced many students who led the nation in various fields.There can be different ideologies but such incidents are not right. We should not take extreme steps or go to a point of no return. #jnuprotest pic.twitter.com/dUuIWwYFl8

— ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2019

Earlier, HRD ministry had appointed three-member committee

“With a view to restore the normal functioning of JNU through dialogue with all stakeholders and to advise the university administration for resolution of contentious issues, the government has appointed a three-member high power committee,” HRD Secretary R Subrahmanyam had said.

The panel includes former UGC Chairman VS Chauhan, AICTE chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe and UGC Secretary Rajnish Jain, reported PTI.

“The committee will initiate dialogue with the students and varsity administration immediately and submit recommendations on actions to be taken. The UGC will provide required support for functioning of the committee,” Subrahmanyam said.

Delhi Police urges JNU students not to take law in their hands

The Delhi Police urged the protesting JNU students on Monday not to take law in their hands and to maintain peace as thousands of agitators continued with their march to Parliament.

The senior police officers on the spot were trying to convince the students to resolve their issues through dialogue, sources said.

“We are trying to mediate talks with the JNU students. Sufficient force have been deployed. We told them not to take law in their hands, block roads and cause inconvenience to the public. We are trying to convince them and hopefully, we will be able to solve the matter soon,” Mandeep Singh Randhawa, Deputy Police Commissioner (Central) as well as the Delhi Police PRO, said.

PTI

Udyog Bhawan, Patel Chowk and Central Secretariat  Metro stations functional

While the gates of the Udyog Bhawan, Patel Chowk and Central Secretariat have been opened, the Lok Kalyan Marg statin is not yet functional, tweeted DMRC.

Yellow Line Update

Entry or exit at Udyog Bhawan, Patel Chowk and Central Secretariat have been opened. Trains are halting at all 3 stations.

Entry/exit gates for Lok Kalyan Marg are still closed and trains will not be halting at the station. https://t.co/96Fq0penFD

— Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (@OfficialDMRC) November 18, 2019

BSP MP speaks out against privatisation of education

Raising the issue of protest by JNU students, BSP member Danish Ali demanded in the Lok Sabha on Monday that the government should ensure that poor students were not denied the facility of higher education for an affordable fee, reports PTI.

He regretted that the education system of the country was being privatised and corporatised under the BJP government. “The government should look into the demands of poor students and take appropriate action,” he said during the Zero Hour.

JNUSU demands complete roll back of fee hike; say VC must resign

JNUSU demanded the resignation of the vice chancellor of the university and said that fellow protesters detained by police must be released. They reiterated their demand for a complete rollback of hostel fee hike and asked the draft hostel manual be withdrawn.

Delhi Police says will investigate into allegations of lathicharge on protesters

Mandeep S Randhawa, Delhi Police PRO: We are trying to talk to the students about their demands and convince them to not take law in their hands. Regarding the allegation of laathi charge, we will inquire into it. #jnuprotest pic.twitter.com/iAyXBHMXQu

— ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2019

Earlier, Sitaram Yechury condemned attack on protesters

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury condemned the police action on protesting JNU students saying it was not the right way to deal with democratic protests.

“This is Modi’s emergency. The number of police personnel present at the spot of the protest is higher than what we saw during emergency,” Yechury said during a press briefing in Delhi. “This is not the right way to deal with democratic protests. The Modi government is trying to provoke the students,” PTI reported him as saying.

Yechury, who was the JNU students’ union president during Emergency, said peaceful demonstration was a democratic right in a democratic society. He added that beating up students shows the “use of extreme authoritarianism on the part of the government”.

Watch: Protesters clash with police

#WATCH Delhi: Clash between Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students and police, earlier today. Delhi Police PRO has said that they will inquire into lathi charge allegations made by JNU students. pic.twitter.com/5yOhuDBvdi

— ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2019

Three Delhi Metro stations shut, traffic affected

The entry and exit points of three Delhi metro stations near Parliament were shut down temporarily, while trains were not halting at Udyog Bhawan and Patel Chowk stations.

Traffic also went out of gear on the Nelson Mandela Marg, Aurobindo Marg and Baba Gangnath Marg among other intersections, reports PTI.

Yellow Line Update

As advised by Delhi Police, trains are not halting at Udyog Bhawan and Patel Chowk. Exit/Entry Gates for Udyog Bhawan, Patel Chowk and Central Secretariat have been closed temporarily.

— Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (@OfficialDMRC) November 18, 2019

Delhi metro trains not halting at Lok Kalyan Marg: DMRC

As advised by Delhi Police, trains are not halting at Lok Kalyan Marg and entry/exit gates of the station have also been closed temporarily.

— Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (@OfficialDMRC) November 18, 2019

Protesters lathi-charged by Delhi Police, say reports

A number of JNU students were detained and some injured when the police allegedly baton-charged and stopped them at many places, reports PTI. The students took to Twitter to share pictures from the march and the injuries they received, allegedly due to the baton charge by the police.

JNU students march towards Parliament, stopped by police

Students of the Jawaharlal Nehru Univeristy, who were holding a protest on the university’s premises for the past three weeks, hit the streets carrying placards and chanting slogans, seeking to get the attention of the Parliament about their demand. The protesters asserted that they would not relent until the government withdraws the hike.
 

Hundreds of police personnel stopped the students on the Baba Ganganath Marg, around 600 metres from the main gate of the university in south Delhi and some of them were forcefully stopped from moving ahead. Several leaders of the agitation were detained by the police when they insisted on marching forward, reports PTI.